:00:00. > :00:07.divided, what does she have to do to stop the divide in the country?
:00:08. > :00:13.Five young people have died in car crashes in the space of 24 hours
:00:14. > :00:19.Two men and a woman died in a head-on collision
:00:20. > :00:23.In the same area yesterday two men were killed when their car
:00:24. > :00:28.Here's our North West reporter, Keiron Tourish.
:00:29. > :00:31.This head-on collision happened on a rural country road
:00:32. > :00:33.near the village of Drumkeen around four miles outside Letterkenny
:00:34. > :00:39.Two cars were involved - a red Toyota Carina
:00:40. > :00:47.Three young people died - a girl who was 19 and two men.
:00:48. > :00:51.One was 18 while the other was in his 20s.
:00:52. > :00:53.I would appeal to the young people in this county,
:00:54. > :00:56.if they know why these vehicles were on the road at night.
:00:57. > :00:59.We think they knew each other and we cannot understand how
:01:00. > :01:06.they collided and we believe there was a lot of speed involved.
:01:07. > :01:10.Again, the appeal is mostly for the families and for the parents
:01:11. > :01:13.who have been contacting us all morning about young ones
:01:14. > :01:18.And we have some people in the station and we are telling
:01:19. > :01:25.We need that information so we can tell the mothers and fathers
:01:26. > :01:31.Yesterday, two young men died when their car was involved
:01:32. > :01:33.in a head-on collision with a van at 4.45am
:01:34. > :01:37.They were named locally as 28-year-old Barney McGinley
:01:38. > :01:45.They were travelling in the wrong direction on the dual carriageway.
:01:46. > :01:47.In this latest crash, one man is in hospital receiving
:01:48. > :01:56.When I was putting out the newspapers this morning,
:01:57. > :01:58.you could see the tragedy from the front page.
:01:59. > :02:05.I opened up at 7am and to hear about the fatality overnight...
:02:06. > :02:11.It is very important that the families of the deceased
:02:12. > :02:13.and those injured know what happened to their loved ones
:02:14. > :02:19.And more importantly, what we can do as a local authority
:02:20. > :02:23.to ensure that the roads we have in this county are safe
:02:24. > :02:28.As the county tries to come to terms with the death of five
:02:29. > :02:32.young lives in 24 hours, the Gardai have revealed that
:02:33. > :02:34.weather conditions at the time of the latest accident were good.
:02:35. > :02:37.They have made an urgent appeal for information
:02:38. > :02:48.There's been anger in West Belfast after leaflets were distributed
:02:49. > :02:53.criticising two different groups for their engagements with the PSNI.
:02:54. > :02:56.One named the organiser of a children's street party
:02:57. > :02:59.in Turf Lodge, the other named the staff of the West Belfast
:03:00. > :03:04.The leaflets are being blamed on dissident republicans,
:03:05. > :03:10.Monagh Road in Turf Lodge - the venue for a community
:03:11. > :03:13.children's street party, when the PSNI's Black Mountain
:03:14. > :03:19.What happened next has forced one woman to take a few
:03:20. > :03:24.The street party at the weekend was organised for the younger
:03:25. > :03:27.children of the Turf Lodge area but there has been a good deal
:03:28. > :03:32.of local anger at the leaflet campaign criticising the PSNI's
:03:33. > :03:37.inclusion in this event and the naming of one of the organisers.
:03:38. > :03:40.The leaflet was distributed by the Irish Republican Prisoners'
:03:41. > :03:46.It was entitled "Community Notice" and said asking the police to attend
:03:47. > :03:54.The organiser is also pictured and named on social media.
:03:55. > :03:56.On its Facebook page, the policing team say
:03:57. > :03:58.they were "invited and very happy to attend."
:03:59. > :04:01.The leaflet has been widely condemned.
:04:02. > :04:04.They have been named on a leaflet that has been put through some
:04:05. > :04:07.doors in West Belfast, which is wrong.
:04:08. > :04:09.They are trying to instil fear among people and people should resist
:04:10. > :04:16.Another group has been singled out - Feile an Phobail,
:04:17. > :04:21.This leaflet names festival staff, accusing them of "promoting
:04:22. > :04:22.the PSNI" and speaking of "unnecessary PSNI
:04:23. > :04:30.The festival's director says the leaflet is a sinister
:04:31. > :04:33.development - especially as it's unsigned.
:04:34. > :04:36.We invite groups and organisations, regardless of political background,
:04:37. > :04:40.to put events on during the festival and we have done that for 27 years.
:04:41. > :04:43.If groups have an issue with the Feile programme,
:04:44. > :04:46.they are welcome to speak to the staff about the programme
:04:47. > :04:53.But as I say, we don't know who we are speaking to at this stage.
:04:54. > :05:00.Festival events are going ahead as planned.
:05:01. > :05:05.A 74-year-old man with an address in Glasgow has become the first
:05:06. > :05:09.person to be charged in connection with the murder in County Donegal 10
:05:10. > :05:11.years ago of Denis Donaldson, a former Sinn Fein official
:05:12. > :05:15.Patrick Gillespie was charged with withholding information
:05:16. > :05:34.Shane Harrison was there and I spoke to him earlier.
:05:35. > :05:36.Denis Donaldson was a former IRA prisoner and a friend
:05:37. > :05:39.of the hunger striker Bobby Sands while they were both in Long Kesh.
:05:40. > :05:42.He worked for Sinn Fein and was arrested by police as part
:05:43. > :05:44.of their investigation into an alleged spy
:05:45. > :05:47.In December 2005 the case against him collapsed
:05:48. > :05:49.because the prosecution said it would not be in the public
:05:50. > :05:58.Gerry Adams immediately told a news conference in Dublin that
:05:59. > :06:02.Denis Donaldson was a British spy and Denis Donaldson at the same
:06:03. > :06:06.event said he had been recruited at a vulnerable period in his life.
:06:07. > :06:09.In April 2006 he was found shot dead at a pre-famine cottage he had been
:06:10. > :06:17.Almost immediately the provisional IRA said it had no responsibility
:06:18. > :06:20.or part in the murder whatsoever and three years later the Real IRA
:06:21. > :06:29.To date, there has been no inquest, much to the annoyance of the family.
:06:30. > :06:35.At the 3-judge Special Criminal Court, Patrick Gillespie,
:06:36. > :06:45.who will be 75 in December, was charged with withholding
:06:46. > :06:48.information from the dates of April 3rd 2006 until July the 20th 2016
:06:49. > :06:59.The court heard his main address was at Craigvar Street in Glasgow
:07:00. > :07:02.but that was disputed by his solicitor, who said that his
:07:03. > :07:04.residence was in the Dungloe area of County Donegal.
:07:05. > :07:06.He was remanded in custody until noon tomorrow
:07:07. > :07:10.when it is expected there will be a bail application.
:07:11. > :07:14.Police say a man in his 70s has been left badly shaken after three men
:07:15. > :07:17.broke into his home in North Belfast and stole a large sum of cash.
:07:18. > :07:21.It happened at around midday at the house in Ballycarry Street.
:07:22. > :07:24.Police are appealing for anyone who saw a small blue car or noticed
:07:25. > :07:28.any suspicious activity in the area to contact them.
:07:29. > :07:31.A dog seized by Belfast City Council can be returned to his home
:07:32. > :07:33.but his owners must comply with court conditions
:07:34. > :07:40.Two-year-old Hank was confiscated by dog wardens earlier this month
:07:41. > :07:47.They concluded he is a pitbull but say that any behavioural issues
:07:48. > :07:54.A new report into a cancelled education scheme has found it
:07:55. > :07:56.helped thousands of pupils improve their English
:07:57. > :08:00.The literacy and numeracy signature programme ran for two
:08:01. > :08:02.years until last year, but it wasn't renewed
:08:03. > :08:07.by the Executive due to a lack of money.
:08:08. > :08:12.Our Education Correspondent Robbie Meredith reports.
:08:13. > :08:16.It helped 19,000 pupils like these at Holy Cross Boys' Primary
:08:17. > :08:23.in Belfast and gave over 300 young teachers a job for two years.
:08:24. > :08:25.Schools had extra staff to help struggling children in English
:08:26. > :08:30.and maths and they had a real impact.
:08:31. > :08:32.Of the primary school pupils helped, over three quarters reached level
:08:33. > :08:35.four or above in English - the expected skill level
:08:36. > :08:44.In post-primary, almost two thirds got a grade C or above in GCSE
:08:45. > :08:50.English and 60% got a GCSE grade C or above in mathematics.
:08:51. > :08:53.It cost OFMDFM and the Department of Education
:08:54. > :09:04.But money could not be found to keep it going beyond last June,
:09:05. > :09:06.to the regret of many school leaders.
:09:07. > :09:08.It provided schools with an additional pair of hands,
:09:09. > :09:10.an additional qualified teacher to work, and these are newly
:09:11. > :09:12.qualified, highly motivated and skilled and they knew
:09:13. > :09:15.the curriculum and were able to work in a targeted manner with groups
:09:16. > :09:24.who had been identified as being potential underachievers.
:09:25. > :09:26.Numeracy and literacy are the core of many subjects
:09:27. > :09:29.so it is important to get children up to standard.
:09:30. > :09:31.This report shows just how much of a difference this
:09:32. > :09:33.scheme made to schools, pupils and young teachers.
:09:34. > :09:37.All for a tiny fraction of the overall ?2 billion education budget.
:09:38. > :09:40.That the money could not be found to keep it going shows just how
:09:41. > :09:48.Household spending power here is just about half the UK average,
:09:49. > :09:57.The report compiled for Asda by a firm of economic consultants
:09:58. > :09:59.shows families in Northern Ireland are experiencing some growth
:10:00. > :10:03.in their incomes but are still far behind other parts of the UK.
:10:04. > :10:06.As our Economics and Business Editor John Campbell explains,
:10:07. > :10:11.it reflects long-standing weaknesses in our economy.
:10:12. > :10:14.Asda produce this report four times a year.
:10:15. > :10:17.They use official data on pay, taxes, prices,
:10:18. > :10:22.They try to show what an average household has left over
:10:23. > :10:24.after they've paid for life's essentials, like groceries,
:10:25. > :10:29.And it doesn't make great reading for us.
:10:30. > :10:33.Average disposable income across the UK is estimated
:10:34. > :10:39.Scotland is just below that and in Wales its ?180 a week.
:10:40. > :10:47.And to be honest, this number is no real surprise.
:10:48. > :10:54.It mainly reflects the fact that this is a low-wage economy.
:10:55. > :10:57.It is on private sector wages where we fall significantly behind
:10:58. > :10:59.and we have been falling behind since the recession.
:11:00. > :11:03.There was an upturn last year in private sector wages but that has
:11:04. > :11:07.We have a significant structural problem in terms of the private
:11:08. > :11:10.sector in Northern Ireland and an explosion of low-wage jobs.
:11:11. > :11:16.And we really do need a strategy to turn that around.
:11:17. > :11:20.Disposable income has been edging up over the last two years,
:11:21. > :11:23.helped by low inflation and a buoyant jobs market.
:11:24. > :11:27.In 2014 it was just an estimated ?82 a week compared
:11:28. > :11:36.But even then, we're not closing the gap with the rest of the UK.
:11:37. > :11:38.The Executive does recognise this is a problem.
:11:39. > :11:40.The DUP, in particular, have talked about the need
:11:41. > :11:45.But delivering on that won't be easy.
:11:46. > :11:50.Now a look at what the weather has in store with Cecilia Daly.
:11:51. > :11:53.Well, thankfully it is drying up in a lot of places at the moment.
:11:54. > :11:56.The last of the rain and drizzle will clear away from Southern
:11:57. > :12:01.The rest of the night will be dry with some breaks in the cloud.
:12:02. > :12:03.Temperatures could well dip to eight or 9 degrees in parts
:12:04. > :12:06.of the countryside so there will be a freshness to the air tomorrow
:12:07. > :12:14.But it will be a lot drier and a lot brighter, too.
:12:15. > :12:17.So no big puddles tomorrow morning, most places will have a dry morning.
:12:18. > :12:19.There will be some sunshine around and some nice sunrises.
:12:20. > :12:21.There will be a cloudy zone with some damp,
:12:22. > :12:23.drizzly weather continuing across Wicklow and Wexford,
:12:24. > :12:25.through the Midlands and Wales, which will move down
:12:26. > :12:28.towards London and the Southern counties of England.
:12:29. > :12:29.Most of those drizzly showers fading away.
:12:30. > :12:32.A few showers over Northern Ireland, Northern Britain and most
:12:33. > :12:35.of the showers will be up across the North West of Scotland.
:12:36. > :12:37.For tomorrow afternoon, lots of drier weather around.
:12:38. > :12:40.One or two light showers here and there so not completely
:12:41. > :12:44.There will be a coolness to the breeze, 16 degrees
:12:45. > :12:50.at the North Coast, 19 degrees over parts of County Down.
:12:51. > :12:52.So much better conditions and much drier weather to come
:12:53. > :12:55.for the Armoy Road Races, which kicks off tomorrow.
:12:56. > :12:58.And on Saturday it looks like it will be another fairly decent day.
:12:59. > :13:01.There will be a few showers here and there but
:13:02. > :13:05.It will be cooler in the breeze but there will also be some sunshine
:13:06. > :13:08.and it will certainly be a lot better on Saturday afternoon
:13:09. > :13:16.Friday, the weekend and the beginning of next week,
:13:17. > :13:21.Not a scorcher by any means but there will be some sunshine.
:13:22. > :13:25.Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25am in the morning
:13:26. > :13:30.You can also keep updated with News Online.